We spent last week in Miami, and somehow I managed to put on 12 pounds. This all despite the fact that I did the bike portion of Triathlon sprint relay on the first Sunday we were there. Of course, the bike portion only lasted about 30 minutes, but it still counts as exercise. So, I know you are thinking that I spent the entire time hanging out with friends at the bars, but I didn’t, which adds more to the oddness. I did manage to lose about 10 pounds over the last couple of months before going to Miami, but to put it all back on plus some in one week is mind boggling. Anyways…such is life.

So…Barbie and I got there on the red eye on Saturday morning, and proceeded to sleep the morning away. In all honesty, I’m not sure our bodies ever fully transferred over to eastern time since we slept in every morning. Well, the main reason for heading down there in the middle of Summer was not to see how much we could sweat, but so Barbie could see the family during the pregnancy, and could have a baby shower. Jan put on the baby shower, and she did one heck of a job. We are both so thankful to her, and to everyone that attended, not b/c of just being there, but because all the great gifts! (just kidding) Anyways, a quick recap of the week long festivities.

• Played two rounds of 9 hole golf with Dad and didn’t do too bad. Of course, it was an easy course, but still a good time.
• Rented “Glory Road,” “Fun with Dick and Jane,” and “The Matador.” The first two movies were good, and the last was absolutely horrible. Also rented “Collateral” but didn’t get time to watch it.
• Saw “Pirates of the Caribbean II” at the theater and thought it was quite enjoyable.
• Had a great lunch at the “Mandarin Oriental” hotel on the water on Brickell Key.
• Had a horrible dinner at a Boston Market where the food was decent, but the place was absolutely filthy.
• Got 2 good hours of basketball in on Thursday night…only lost one game!
• Barbie bought a ton of maternity clothes at wholesale from a family member’s girlfriend named Maria. Saved at least 50% on all these clothes. I told Barbie with all these clothes, we better have at least two kids
• Two great Italian dinners. One with my parents at “Oggi Caffe,” and the other at “Villagio” with Jon and Jan
• Went car shopping for a new car for me. Test drove the Honda Pilot, Toyota Sequoia and Lexus G470. Not sure what to get yet, but I’ll keep you posted.
• Went to my second cousin’s 5th birthday party. You’ve never seen a kid so excited…Happy B-Day Elisabeth.
• Got 3rd place in a Triathlon sprint relay as part of the soon to be famous “Red Eye Tri Team”…we got a trophy!

I’m sure there a few things I have left out, so I apologize if I left you out. All in all a great time with the family. You just can’t beat family!

p.s. Special thanks to Alan & Jeanne for picking us up at the airport.